A treatment sometimes recommended for women in the climacteric who experience severe symptoms reduces or completely alleviates hot flashes. However, there is some evidence that may increase the risk of uterine cancer.
Administration of estrogen to women who have a deficiency of this hormone (e.g., menopausal and postmenopausal women) and women with hypothalamic amenorrhea. The safety of estrogen to treat menopause was questioned by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), which found that postmenopausal women who took estrogen and progesterone had an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attack, stroke, and venous thromboembolism relative to controls. Estrogen and estrogen-like compounds can be used in men to treat prostate cancer.
The use of either natural or synthetic estrogen, taken orally, by injection, as a cream or suppository, or in a patch, primarily to relieve symptoms of menopause.
The utilization of the female hormone estrogen to substitute the natural production that ceases in the body following medical or surgical menopause.